Six Flags Great America’s new wing coaster X-Flight has taken shape. As you can see from the picture below, the track work is complete. While the layout does look a little compact, we can expect a lot of events and exciting moments during the ride’s course. News Plus Notes recently took a hard hat tour and came back with some great photos.
From their photos, it’s clear to see just how much the layout really uses the exposed nature of winged seating system. Not only will riders fly through that covered section and the keyhole cutout in the flight tower, but much of the ride seems to fly low to the ground. There’s even a mention of water cannons that will shoot up during a low flying curve. According to Scott and Carol from NPN,
they were added to the ride’s design after the animated videos were created.
Also, I hadn’t noticed that the wing coasters had these open restraints (pictured right). Hopefully this means that headbanging should be kept to a minimum throughout the ride’s five inversions. Just another reason that X-Flight is the roller coaster that I’m most excited about.
See News Plus Notes full set of must-see construction photos of X-Flight.
And, in other wing coaster news, read this excellent review of The Swarm from Theme Park Tourist.
What’s Your Take?
How do you think X-Flight looks? Leave a comment below. Photos from Six Flags Great America’s Facebook page.
March 25, 2012 at 05:32
Wow now im actually stating to see why this was your number one roller coaster. I went with size but this looks just as exciting as Leviathan. Thank you for the info.
March 25, 2012 at 10:43
Riding that this summer! =D
March 25, 2012 at 12:01
I don't see really why you ranked this above Wild Eagle. Wild eagle will have the trees as near miss objects (when they grow in) and a overall better look in my opinion. Then again I am a boulder dash kind of guy.
March 25, 2012 at 17:15
I'm definitely more of a terrain coaster guy Kristofer. Trust me. But the level of interaction with off-ride elements looks much higher on X-Flight. It looks like Wild Eagle will have a wooded atmosphere and you're right the trees might be somewhat near, but it doesn't look to me to be like Boulder Dash or Montu's trenches or Cheetah Hunt's river run. No way to really know until I ride them, but that's how it looks to me. I've been wrong before and I've looked back at my picks and thought, "Well that wasn't right".
March 25, 2012 at 16:15
I haven't seen pictures of the ride yet, and I'm suprised how good the layout looks. Judging from this picture, X-Flight looks just as good as Wild Eagle. Even though they're the same type of coaster, they're completely different types of rides. I guess I won't know which coaster's better until I ride them both.
March 26, 2012 at 08:11
The ride is looking great but it just seems a little on the short side, then again so does Wild Eagle and Leviathan, both seeming like they had a couple maneuvers left in them before the brakes. I hope the theming comes together to really add something extra to the ride, though being Six Flags my expectations are a bit tempered by their track record.